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English Composition Classes

Research help for EN 101, EN 102, EN 300, and EN 301.

Boolean Tips

Boolean searching can help you find accurate results quickly.

Use Boolean operators to link search words to get more accurate results.

Common Boolean Terms:

  • AND - results will contain both terms
  • OR - results will have at least one of the terms
  • NOT - results will exclude this term
  • * - use this symbol to truncate words (the results will have the root with all possible variations)
  • "quotation marks" - results will contain the exact phrase

Keep in mind that Boolean search operators vary from database to database. Click the "HELP" button (usually located next to the search template) to get specifics

Finding Books

To search for books, DVDs, videos, Internet sites and government documents use the ENCORE Library Catalog.

KEYWORD searching is the default mode but subject searching generally gets more focused results.

To do a specific search by subject, author, title, or call number, use the Advanced Search box.  The Advanced Search box is also used for complex boolean searching.

Library of Congress Call Numbers:

PE 1402 - PE 1495: How To Write

PE 1591: Thesauruses

PE 1620 - PE 1630: Dictionaries